Judas Priest Erased Me, But Not the Fun I Had

Former Judas Priest singer Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens said he regrets the way his former band has “erased” him, but added that he still enjoys remembering his nine-year stint with the British icons.

He replaced original vocalist Rob Halford in 1996 and appeared on two albums – 1997’s Jugulator and 2001’s Demolition – before being dismissed for Halford’s return in 2003.

Since then, Priest have shown no interest in the material written with Owens, which is the only part of their catalog not available on streaming platforms – although the band’s recent $500 box set contained both records. In a recent interview with Whiplash, the singer explained his regret over the move.

READ MORE: The Judas Priest Album That Shocked Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens

“Well, it’s hard to draw new fans to it,” he said, adding: “When I do [my] solo tours, I play Jugulator and Demolition songs, and they go over better than anything.

“Judas Priest decided – their decision, no one else’s – to erase the records,” he continued, before referring to the box set. “That proves that they do have access to put it out… But that’s their decision, and that’s fine.”

Owens insisted that he didn’t want to “hurt anybody’s feelings,” but speculated, “I guess they’re upset by it, and they don’t like the idea of it being out there. I guess there’s wokeness in metal as well, isn’t there?”

In a more positive light, he described his ex band mates as “fantastic guys, just amazing guys” and said he’d “had the time of my life” with them. “I always say Judas Priest was my college.… they opened the doors for me and I took advantage of it. … I was treated fantastic.”

He added: “Except now they ignore me… they erased my… It was great when I was in the band; now I’m just erased. But they can’t erase the fun I had – that’s the whole thing.”

Ripper Owens Explains Why Judas Priest Aren’t As Big as Iron Maiden

Owens went on to suggest that Judas Priest were the victims of poor management practice, resulting in decisions like ignoring his two albums and their about-face in firing then rehiring guitarist Andy Sneap in 2022.

Comparing Priest to another British metal giant, he said: “Iron Maiden has great management. They do great business moves. … Judas Priest, yeah… This is a band that announced they were going to one guitar player… I mean, how the fuck does Judas Priest go to one guitar player?

“So there’s a reason why [Maiden] play in front of 20,000 people and the other one plays in front of 5,000. … Iron Maiden, which is a little more class act, plays Blaze Bayley’s songs, ‘cause they wrote them; they did it. Why would they not?”